Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - Bourke and crew win SB20 series

Hamilton Island CEO Glenn Bourke and his crew have won the SB20 one design series at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.

It is an impressive result but not the drubbing the multiple world champion dinghy sailor usually dishes out with only four points back to Phillip Gray’s Dulon Polish after 11 races.

The same pair finished just a point apart at the class’ nationals in Hobart early this year, showing Bourke’s Club Marine is beatable, almost.

‘It’s been tough for us,’ admitted the SB20 winner this morning. ‘I haven’t sailed since February so I was a little bit rusty early, and light air makes it more difficult because it’s all about feel.

‘We started to come back through the regatta, we had a couple of very good days and we had a couple of reasonable days.

‘We just sailed our normal kind of regatta, which is conservative and no bad races, usually that gets us there in the end.’

Looking forward to the SB20 World Championship Hamilton Island is hosting from December 13 to 21, Bourke says he and his crew, which includes Australian SB20 class president Rod Jones, have some work to do.

‘We need to up our training and get our crew manoeuvres down pat. I think we are in with a chance though. We’ll have a good boat, we’ll be well prepared and we feel comfortable in the environment.

On his prospects at another world title crack Bourke adds ‘I hope we’re at front end of the fleet , but there’s some really elite sailors coming, Olympic medallists and world champions in the class and we’ll have our work cut out for us, there’s no doubt about it. We’ll give it a good shake.’

Phillip Gray paid homage to Bourke’s talents this morning. ‘Bourkey doesn’t make many mistakes, we always have a good battle with him.'

At this stage Gray is also planning to contest the world championship this December.

Ten points behind Dulon Polish and 14 points off Bourke’s result with Club Marine was Dennis Wistanley’s Queensland based SB20, Jump.

At 20 feet the Laser SB20 was the smallest class of boat competing at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.